The Leap of Faith Principle: Take the First Step

Sometimes when we are faced with difficult tasks or overwhelming obstacles, all that’s required for us to navigate the path toward success is to take the first step. That’s the Leap of Faith Principle, which is Principle No. 4 in my book All the Right Reasons.

To help illustrate the principle, I lean on a story from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (apologies for the incorrect Indiana Jones film reference in the video below).

In one particular scene, Indiana needs to get from one side of a massive ravine to the other in his quest to find the Holy Grail. The only problem? It’s far too wide to jump across, and there doesn’t seem to be a bridge.

Indiana fears he will fall to his death if he steps blindly into thin air. But his father is dying and he has run out of time. Professor Henry Jones, Indiana’s father, urges his son to take a leap of faith.

“You must believe, boy. You must believe,” he says.

Ultimately, Indy takes a leap of faith and makes it to the other side.

Take a Leap of Faith

Many times in life, that’s what it takes. We just have to take the first step.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

So often, we’re not willing to take that first step because we’re not sure what’s going to happen. The only thing that will help us do that is to have faith.

The Leap of Faith Principle, to me, is this: You act with faith when you take a courageous step into the unknown.

As I write in my book, faith is not a sure knowledge. It is a firm belief in something for which there is no proof. We have faith when we believe we can find a way and then move into the dark.

Faith is hope put into action.

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When we embark on a journey, start a project, begin a new relationship, or form a business, we aren’t guaranteed our efforts will prove successful. Like Indiana Jones, we are often taking steps into the unknown. We act, not because we know, but because we hope we can succeed. We believe we can find a way.

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